Activists plan to sue Mass. nuclear plant owner

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Pilgrim was relicensed earlier this year after 6½ years of review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Associated Press
October 10, 2012

PLYMOUTH — Massachusetts activists have announced plans to sue the owners of the Pilgrim ­Nuclear Power Station for what they say is the continuous pollution of Cape Cod Bay over the last 16 years.

The three activists, represented by Ecolaw, notified the Environmental Protection Agency Friday of their intent to sue the plant’s owner, New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. They say the Plymouth plant damaged the local ecology by discharging chemical pollution and water heated far above allowed standards.

Pine duBois, one of the three residents who signed the notification to the EPA, said regulators have a duty to enforce antipollution laws. ‘‘Our ocean is not Entergy’s dump,’’ she said in a press release. ‘‘Cape Cod Bay belongs to all of us.’’

The Department of Environmental Protection said Tuesday that it had just received the letter.

‘‘We are currently reviewing each allegation contained in it,’’ the agency said.

Pilgrim was relicensed earlier this year after 6½ years of review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The relicensing means that the commission has certified that the plant, built in 1972, can operate safely for another 20 years.

NRC officials have noted that its staff devoted approximately 14,600 hours to the review, which was the longest of any renewal application in the agency’s history.

Ecolaw said it notified state and federal agencies of its intent to sue under laws that allow citizens to act if the government fails to enforce the law.

The group told the EPA it is able to sue Entergy if the agency does not act within 60 days of the notification.

And it says under Massachusetts law it can sue the Department of Environmental Protection if the state does not act with 21 days of its Friday notification to that agency.

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